As the interminable case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce grinds its way through the Court of Chancery, it draws together a disparate group of people: Ada and Richard Clare, whose inheritance is gradually being devoured by legal costs; Esther Summerson, a ward of court, whose parentage is a source of deepening mystery; the menacing lawyer Tulkinghorn; the determined sleuth Inspector Bucket; and even Jo, the destitute little crossing-sweeper. A savage, but often comic, indictment of a society that is rotten to the core, Bleak House is one of Dickens's most ambitious novels, with a range that extends from the drawing rooms of the aristocracy to the poorest of London slums.

Part of a series of abridged, vintage recordings taken from the Penguin Archives.

Listener Opinions

" One of Dicken's best. The characters have a lot of depth, and there is not a loose end by the conclusion. Now, if I could just figure out a way to choke the life out of Mr. Skimpole.....
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by Kaija | 6/19/2011

" What amazed me the most was the knowledge that this was written for serialized publication, and that other than what was printed in the newspaper/journal, Dickens had no back-up version of the text. Keeping all the events and characters in order and without a hitch in the plot... Simply astounding.
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by Mark | 6/14/2011

" LONGEST READ EVER! A classic, though again, the length detoured my interest at times, though it is well crafted and the characters are intricate and diverse.
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